Site Search Navigation

Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

That Postcard Might Be an Art Project

By Jennifer 8. Lee March 24, 2009 10:31 amMarch 24, 2009 10:31 am

IgotapostcardA self-addressed postcard left in a school in New York was decorated and returned as part of an Igotapostcard art project.

Did you ever wish you were the one who was inspired to start PostSecret? The deceptively simple confession-by-mail art project and Web phenomenon has spawned four books and inspired copycats in four countries.
But even if you aren’t Frank Warren, the man from Germantown, Md., who started PostSecret in 2004, you can start your own call for anonymous artistic postcards.

IgotapostcardA postcard left in a library in New York was decorated and returned to Belgium as part of the Igotapostcard project.

This month, a 33-year-old Belgian artist has started a project called I Got a Postcard, where people leave self-addressed stamped postcards that encourage the people who find them to personalize and mail them.

Two weeks ago, he left his first 100 cards in 10 locations in New York City — including a library, airport, theater and bus — and waited for them to return. The cards read: “Dear finder, personalize this postcard and then return it to me. Be as original and artistic as possible and your creation will be submitted to igotapostcard.blogspot.com.”

The artist, Renaud Dehareng (the artist name of Jason Burns), says he was inspired by PostSecret. And Postsecret itself was inspired by Found magazine.

“But rather than sending postcards, people receive them,” Mr. Dehareng explained in an e-mail interview. “It’s exciting, because you don’t know what you’ll receive from strangers.” The project should be “a mirror on our society,” he noted. (In contrast, since PostSecret encouraged people to send in secrets they had never told anyone else, it was considered likely to show the “dark matter” of society.)

IgotapostcardThis postcard was left on a bus in New York. When it was returned, it had a new caption: “You’re ‘Almost’ Over that Hill.”

People who receive cards they left out for strangers to find are encouraged to scan or photograph them and send them to the Web site.

Mr. Dehareng chose to leave postcards that are a bit original and uncommon, in order to attract attention in public places. For example, one postcard he left had an old black and white photo of a woman in a long dress, standing by a bicycle. In the version that came back, the person had pasted phrase “You’re Almost Over That Hill” over her.

Mr. Dehareng left cards in London, Paris and Brussels. But he started with New York because he thought it was the best place to start this type of project. “In Europe, people are not so reactive,” he explained.

It is very much like Bookcrossings.com however, it’s very much like a lot of other photography/image/post-card art projects that have been done in the past. I’m curious as to why this guy is so special that he warrants a NYTimes article.

Disgusted and Marcia: This originated with a blind pitch from the artist, someone none of us knows, and we thought it would make a fun little post for our local city blog. That’s all. Nobody’s claiming it’s a new concept.

At our local community college, a class called Basic Design was the prerequisite for all courses. Our instructor was traveling to NYC during the semester, so she assigned us to create 3 collage self addressed post cards depicting 3 separate elements of design that she would grade and mail back to us. It was great fun. I didn’t realize that USPS would even allow this type of mail through the system. Another item being made is a business card sized quilt or scrapbook design that artists trade between themselves for free. In these gloomy economic times, let’s do some inexpensive fun things to brighten our days.

While this may not be a new idea–I have taught a lot of students who don’t use snail mail. Hardly have in their lives! This could be considered a public service in terms of introducing the postal service to some younger citizens! I had a student once who stuck stamps on the top left hand corner of an envelope–very carefully!

What's Next

Looking for New York Today?

New York Today is still going strong! Though no longer on City Room, New York Today continues to appear every weekday morning, offering a roundup of news and events for the city. You can find the latest New York Today at nytoday.com or in the morning, on The New York Times homepage or its New York section. You can also receive it via email.

Lookin for Metropolitan Diary?

Metropolitan Diary continues to publish! Since 1976, Metropolitan Diary has been a place for New Yorkers, past and present, to share odd fleeting moments in the city. We will continue to publish one item each weekday morning and a round-up in Monday's print edition. You can find the latest entries at nytimes.com/diary and on our New York section online.

About

City Room®, a news blog of live reporting, features and reader conversations about New York City, has been archived. Send questions or suggestions by e-mail.